This week in Umbria and Tuscany


We finish up the Italy portion of our journey this week. We are in Siena today, tomorrow we drive to the airport in Milan, spend the night then have an early flight on Saturday for Amsterdam. What a crazy ride. We loved Umbria. I remember when we were planning this I thought only of Tuscany,…

Umbria is not umber,


We are in the Umbria region of Italy which is where the color umber got its name. Umber is a very dark brown color, and burnt umber a common color on pallets, but the color does not represent the ambience we are experiencing in Umbria. It has been a delightful place to visit and to…

Michelin, more than tires


Yesterday we returned to Assisi to visit the Basilica of St. Francis. The weather had changed from sunny Sunday to Normandie rain. We parked at the end of the city near the Basilica, which we discovered was the end with few restaurants. Lunch being a higher priority at the moment, we searched for food. We…

Capture moments, then pass them on – Thanks Niki


Niki often has such good advice. (Niki is my daughter Alexis Nicole, many years ago I started calling her Niki, and it stuck, though I am the only one.) She pushed back when I explained to her my stress about the large number of paintings and sketchbooks that I was accumulating. I do not want…

Remembering more trips – sketching yours


Sketching helps me remember past trips. Photos are great but a sketch has a different feel. If you are not an artist I can do an original travelsketch for you from your photo, ready for you to frame. Email me if it sounds interesting, thetravelsketcher@gmail.com A garden in Tokyo A morning walk in Kyoto